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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28006212">the story of Theseus</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhimsicalMercy/pseuds/WhimsicalMercy'>WhimsicalMercy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>MCYT December except it's not festive [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Betrayal, Blood and Violence, Near Death Experiences, Pre-Canon, References to Ancient Greek Religion &amp; Lore, Sad Dave | Technoblade, Serious Injuries, Techno backstory</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:02:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,626</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28006212</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhimsicalMercy/pseuds/WhimsicalMercy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p><br/><em>"Let me tell you a story, Tommy. A story of a man called Theseus. His country, well, his city state, technically, was in danger, and he sent himself forward into enemy lines; he slayed the Minotaur and saved his city. You know what they did to him, Tommy? They exiled him. He died in disgrace, despised by his people. That's what happens to heroes, Tommy. The Greeks knew the score."</em><br/>  </p>
</blockquote>Techno had always been The Blade. They never listened when he said that he was an anarchist and claimed he betrayed them. They failed to forget he had been a boy once too.
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dave | Technoblade &amp; Adam Dahlberg, Dave | Technoblade &amp; TommyInnit, Dave | Technoblade &amp; Wilbur Soot &amp; TommyInnit &amp; Phil Watson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>MCYT December except it's not festive [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036191</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>289</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the story of Theseus</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>IM A FEW DAYS BEHIND. And I skipped day 8. This is what I had written for day 9 and it's what put me behind, but I'm genuinely happy with how it came out. My 12-year-old self really popped off here. For reference, day 9's prompt was "Betrayal" :)</p><p>TW: Death from disease (mentioned) and violence and attempted murder of a minor.</p><p>All characters used in this are based purely on their fictional personas. If any of the creators decide they are not comfortable with fanworks, this work will be taken down immediately to respect their wishes. I also ask that this work is not linked anywhere or intentionally shared with any of the creators mentioned.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“Let me tell you a story, Tommy. A story of a man called Theseus.”</em>
</p><p>Techno had been living on his own since he was 12, his parents having died off due to a disease that had swept their city. He had been so lucky, at least in everyone else’s eyes, the only left of his family. His siblings had all died young, his parents killed off by an illness. There had been great debate on what should happen to him at that time, when he was still a boy. It took his father’s will and him proving that he could hold his own for him to get his family’s land back to him.</p><p>He worked hard and by himself, using the knowledge his parents had taught him. He tilled the land and planted crops, he bred and raised animals, he mined and hunted. He sold the leftover wool and cloth he had. He raised bees and sold their honey, grew flowers for dye. He used every skill he had ever been taught; cooking, sewing, fishing. He was fairly mediocre at most of the household skills, only knowing how to sew enough to patch holes or cook enough to not burn anything. His food was plain at best, all of his best crops and cuts of meat being sold. </p><p>He had to teach himself how to fight. He taught himself how to use a sword with an old iron one he found in his father’s shed. The only formal teaching he had was when he traded an entire cow’s worth of meat to a soldier in exchange for some training, just so he could defend himself and his family's land. The soldier had been a kind, but stern teacher with a stunning gold sword. The sword hanging on the man’s waist had been what drew him closer, even more so when he had seen the soldier in a brief skirmish with some mobs. He had been on the way home when he met the man the first time and had immediately sought him out in the town square the next time.</p><p>When he asked about it a few lessons in, the soldier had laughed and told him to stick with unenchanted blades for a while. He also had ruffled his hair and Techno ignored the burning feeling of pride from the contact. He hadn’t been treated so affectionately in so long, even if it was followed by his feet getting swept out from beneath him and an instruction to work on his stance. He had nodded and gotten up, pushing himself to be better with the sword, then better with an axe. He started using anything he could get his hands on to train with. He learned to use his fishing rod to pull things closer, learned to use his shield to hit enemies over the head, learned that it’s a lot easier to hurt someone if, oddly enough, they had a bit of height on you (aim for the ankles to bring enemies down, if they couldn’t walk, they couldn’t escape.)</p><p>When he wasn’t slaving away in the fields or patching up a leaking roof or old fence, when he wasn’t fishing or harvesting or selling at the market, he was training. He had sought the soldier out simply because he was rumored to be the best and Techno needed to be strong to keep what he had left safe. He didn’t think he’d ever be close enough to be a soldier, too content with his farm life, but he liked the brief moments of adrenaline he got taking down mobs and scaring off thieves. He liked his life, even though he felt so lonely without his mother or father. He had himself, he had his goods and he had his fighting lessons.</p><p>What more did he need?</p><p>He didn’t really need friends, something he told the soldier he trained with. The older man had laughed and shaken his head as their wooden blades clashed. The soldier slammed his blade against Techno’s and the boy stumbled back, tripping over his own feet. He huffed in irritation and let the man help him up. They took a brief break, drinking water. His teacher had taken his hair out of the low ponytail, his glasses being pushed up on his forehead. “Trust me, having someone that has your back is important.” Techno wrinkled his nose.</p><p>“Yeah, well, I don’t have anyone left.” </p><p>The soldier paused before looking over. He reached down and pulled the ribbon out of Techno’s hair. He offered the child a smile and jerked his hand away when the Techno scrambled for his white ribbon, yelling in protest. He didn’t say anything and just pocketed the scrap of fabric. His smile became a little crooked and a little softer as he passed his own yellow ribbon over. Techno took the ribbon with wide eyes, holding it in his hands as if it would crumble to dust. He looked up before reaching back and tying back his pink hair. “Well, kid, you got me now. You watch my back and I watch yours.”</p><p>“Yes sir!”</p><p>“Hey, you can call me by my name, you know?”</p><p>Techno hesitates and looks down briefly. He hadn’t had anyone, didn’t need anyone. He was going on 13 now, nearly a year had passed since his parents had died. He had gotten used to living on his own, looking over his shoulder because nobody would watch his back. He looks up again at his teacher, a soldier who was known for his prowess in battle and his leading skills. He was charismatic and charming and everyone liked him. Yet, he still took the time to teach Techno how to fight and forge his own weapons. He could have just let the poor, stubborn orphan be, let him live on his own.</p><p>But the soldier didn’t so Techno smiled shyly. “Okay, uh, Mr. Sky.”</p><p>“No! Just Sky! Or Adam works too. No Mr.”</p><p>“Okay, Mr. Sky.”</p><p>
  <em>“His country, well, his city state, technically, was in danger, and he sent himself forward into enemy lines; he slayed the Minotaur and saved his city.”</em>
</p><p>There was screaming in the city center when he arrived to sell his goods that day. He’s 14, nearly 15, and now his life had finally stopped sinking. He had clawed himself up to steady ground and had been stable for a while now. He trains, he harvests and he sells his goods in the market once a week. The loud noises and cries of terror all surrounded a small group of travelers. He tied his horse to a hitching post and dismounted, brushing his hair over his shoulders. He noticed soldiers gathered around the group, all of the men looking horrified at the tale the travelers were telling.</p><p>It quickly became apparent to him that these were not travelers. They were survivors. They talked about a monster that had killed all their best soldiers, one that hadn’t faltered when shot with arrows. It had taken down anything and everything with no mercy for women or children. The survivors were being comforted by the soldiers, but he noticed as Sky turned to leave the square. He frowned, unsure as to why his mentor had left. Usually, he would be the first to comfort any grieving person, be the first to state that the soldiers would be taking something down. He had done so when they took in refugees from a city that spawned a wither, he had done so when a part of the city got raided.</p><p>Why wasn’t he doing that now?</p><p>Techno followed closely behind, though he knew the older soldier heard him. They got halfway down an alleyway before he was turned on. They stared hard at each other before he spoke up. “What’s going on?” He demanded, earning a sigh. Adam reached up and pushed his glasses up into his hair, his bangs being pushed back with the motion. Techno frowned, disliking the look on his mentor’s face. The lines made the man seem older, more tired. He had never seen the older man actually look his age. Sky usually had a grin on his face, making him look softer.</p><p>“Techno… This… whatever that thing is... We can’t fight it. It took out another city, it’s looking at us next.” He jolted at the honesty. He was suddenly reminded that Adam was a soldier, that he was the leader of the city’s military. He had seen things that Techno couldn’t imagine. The scars on the man’s hands and arms were testament to this. Techno suddenly felt very small next to him, very naive. Adam turned to climb a set of stairs up the back of the alley and he hurried to follow. Sky lowered his glasses again, covering his eyes. They came out on the balcony overlooking the city square and the area went silent as Adam marched up to the railing. There was a moment of silence.</p><p>“We’re going to evacuate. Everyone, starting with women, children, and the elderly. Anyone who does not join us will be left to survive on their own and are no longer under the protection of the military.”</p><p>Techno whipped around to stare at the man, roars and cries echoed around them. Families horrified at being torn apart, at having to leave their homes and lives here. He felt numb as Adam began announcing who would be exiting the city first, with the assistance and protection of any person capable of fighting. Soldiers were to remain behind, to defend the eastern border and allow the citizens to escape to the west. Men ages 15 to 50 were required to be drafted as soldiers, though only to defend those leaving and to create a way for them to safely reach the new lands a designated scouting party has claimed.</p><p>All he could feel was numbness. His home was here, his life. His parents and siblings had died on this land, he had spent years working and training on this land. He became very aware of the iron sword hanging on his waist, one he had been gifted to by the very commander in front of him. He watched as Sky calmly responded to the shouts and protests from below, answering questions and taking the brunt force of the citizen’s anger. </p><p>They were so angry, so hurt. Everyone was feeling the same thing that he did: despair at the idea of packing their lives up. This had been their city for generations, leaving wasn’t even a concept for most. Techno himself didn’t want to leave. He couldn’t, he had no attachment to anywhere else. This was his home, where he had lost everything and built it back up from the ground. He swallowed hard and stepped forward. “What if…. What if someone killed the Beast?” He asked and the square went quiet. </p><p>Sky whirled to face him, a horrified look on his face, but Techno stepped closer. “Even if it doesn’t work... It’ll keep the Beast distracted for a bit, give everyone else the chance to run.” He offered and Adam shook his head, looking terrified. The square started murmuring and then the murmurs turned into shouting. Shouts that, surely, the boy is right, that’s your squire, send someone to slay the Beast. Adam frowned and turned to the crowd again.</p><p>“If anyone wishes to attempt to slay the Beast, they are more than welcome to, but I will not be sending soldiers with them. Not when we’ve been told first hand that the Beast has been known to kill highly trained soldiers and knights!” Adam yelled over the roar of the crowd. Everyone went silent again, looking away. Nobody would step forward, Techno realized. Nobody would attempt to defend their homes and land. Their <em>lives.</em></p><p>“I will.” </p><p>Techno’s voice rang out and he watched as Adam turned around again. They had a hard stare off before Sky nodded sadly. “Understood.” The words were nearly silent, exchanged between the man and young teenager. Techno watched as Sky turned around to the crowd again. “We have someone who will go out to face the Beast. Technoblade will be leaving the city’s limits. If he does not return by the end of the month, we will begin evacuations.” The crowd screamed in response, this time in glee and Techno wondered if this is what it was like to be drunk with how the sound rushed through his veins. He held his chin up and smiled awkwardly, ignoring the heartbroken expression on Sky’s face.</p><p>
  <em>“You know what they did to him, Tommy?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“...”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“They exiled him.”</em>
</p><p>He had won. He had slain the Beast, he had beaten it by himself. As disgusting as he felt, soaked in blood and mud and whatever else, he felt accomplished. He wasn’t just a farmer now. He had used all the fighting skills he had been taught in the past few years, had used every weapon he had on him. Most had broken, the only one he had now was his bow (his quiver was empty) and the enchanted gold sword Adam had pushed into his hands, the same one he had never thought he would touch.</p><p>His trek back to the city took less time than the journey to the cave, but it seemed longer. He was confident, despite being somewhat wounded. Everything hurt and he had gone through almost all of his food in the fight, but he was happy. He had protected his home, nobody would have to leave. He was sure Adam would be proud of him. After all, nobody else could defeat the Beast, nobody but him. Perhaps now, he could give up being a farmer to join the ranks as a soldier. He would have to ask. </p><p>The entire time he hadn’t gotten a good look at his appearance. He reached up to press on the healing cut on his eyebrow, then tried to run his fingers through his hair. It got caught and he realized how terribly he smelled, still coated in the, now dried, blood. He frowned and wondered why he hadn’t thought to bring proper soap on his trip. The most he had done at the end of his fight was cleaning off his face and hands. He had been too focused on keeping his various cuts and scratches clean to worry about his actual appearance. </p><p>He didn’t realize that it would be one of his many mistakes. He didn’t realize that he should be worried about how he looked until he showed up at the outskirts of his home and had gotten stared at. The soldiers had taken one look at him and gasped. He cocked his head and felt his eyes widen as swords and axes were drawn on him. Confusion and adrenaline pumped through his veins as a crowd, no a mob, formed. They called him a monster, stating that he shouldn’t have survived. They said that he was the next biggest threat to their safety.</p><p>After all, he killed the Beast by himself at 15. </p><p>What was saying he couldn’t kill every single one of them as he pleased?</p><p>He yelped as an arrow landed on his shoulder and he stumbled back towards the woods, looking around frantically. He had known most of these people for his entire life, but he had never seen them so full of hate and rage. All aimed at him. A sword slashed at him and he barely had time to block with his shield. An axe followed, then another arrow brushed his cheek. He couldn’t help the pleading and begging that left his lips, the promises that he just wanted to protect them. He wouldn’t ever hurt these people, he swore he wouldn’t. They didn’t listen, they didn’t hear his words and only shouted louder.</p><p>He stumbled back again, just as a familiar head of brown hair tied back with a white ribbon arrived on the scene. Adam looked sad, heartbroken. He reached out for his mentor, the one person he thought would save him. All he got was a small shake of his head and mouthed words that made tears well up and run down his cheeks.</p><p>
  <em>“Run, Techno.”</em>
</p><p>He listened; he shoved another man off of him using his shield and turned. He broke into a run, footsteps thundering behind him as he threw himself into the forest he had just come from. Sticks and leaves whipped his face, cutting into his face as he pushed himself to go faster. The world blurred as tears burned tracks down his face. He couldn’t help but think of those last words, not even spoken to him by a man he had trusted. The man who had taught him everything he had used to kill the Beast, the man who fed him during winters when supplies were just too scarce. </p><p>He sniffled before it broke into a scream, pain spreading out from three points on his back. Behind him, the crowd screamed as he toppled. A trident, someone had thrown a trident at him. The floor was rough beneath his body, the twigs and rocks digging into his already scratched face. He attempted to crawl but a foot pressed down on his back, forcing him to the ground again. He screamed as they pressed the weapon further into his back. He felt another two arrows pierce him and he screamed again, letting himself fall limp.</p><p>For a moment, they stopped and he held his breath. One, two, three seconds and he felt them tear the trident from his back. He screamed again, the sound falling into sobs as they turned him over. Adult men, most twice his age, stood over him. He couldn’t see their faces through the tears and blood loss. He watched as the man clutching the trident looked down on him. The trident was lifted before being plunged into his stomach. His scream cracked at the end and the world went black.</p><p>
  <em>“He died in disgrace, despised by his people.”</em>
</p><p>Unlike Theseus, Techno didn’t die. He got close and had slept for four days afterward, but he didn’t die. Technoblade never dies. When he came to, Techno didn’t know where he was. It took a good minute for him to actually get his eyes open. The room he was in wasn’t one he recognized, the walls a soft yellow. He only got a few minutes before he was introduced to a man named Phil and another teenager named Wilbur. They had found him, dying, and took him in. Wilbur had spent hours brewing potions and forcing them down his throat, Phil had carefully wrapped him in bandages and cleaned his wounds. Together, they had pulled him into their home, into their life, without question.</p><p>They never asked where he was from or what happened, nor did they ask why he had ripped the yellow ribbon out of his hair. They didn’t question why he couldn’t burn it and why he took care of a golden sword he never used again. He healed, he grew to love them, but he couldn’t keep the anxiety out of his mind. The anxiety that he would be betrayed, that they would turn on him. They never did, even as the months passed. They let him remain moderately independent, giving him his own spot in the fields for crops and his own animals. Just in case. </p><p>They were kind and accommodating and Techno felt like a fish out of water the first time he was referred to as Wilbur’s brother. He didn’t deny it, he couldn’t. Wilbur and Phil had taken up residence in the cracks in his heart, making him feel whole again. He finally grew to trust them, as much as he had trusted Adam. He stopped looking over his shoulder and let them touch him gently. He started sleeping around them, more frequently once he realized he wouldn’t wake up with a knife through his chest. If he didn’t wake up when they tried to move him, he would rise in the morning with a soft blanket draped over him, keeping him safe and warm.</p><p>They made him soft, soft enough to see a hurt boy and bring him back. Tommy was something; loud, energetic, <em>loyal</em>. It had taken Techno almost a year to trust Wilbur and Phil, but Tommy seemed to trust them automatically. Not because they were kind, Tommy told him once, but because Techno had trusted them. They became a family, one forged with the past behind them. Nobody asked what they had gone through, nobody needed to.</p><p>They were family.</p><p>But Adam had been family too.</p><p>Techno realized fairly quickly once he had gotten involved in his brothers’ mess in Dream’s land that they were going to betray him. Rather, they would think of him as a traitor, as a backstabber. He grew cold, bitter. He had never strayed from his ideals of being untrusting towards the government, any government, and yet he was the traitor. He was the bad guy, just as he had been all those years ago. Now, thankfully, Techno was smart. He didn’t let Tommy’s tears and confusion sway him.</p><p>
  <em>"That’s what happens to heroes, Tommy. The Greeks knew the score."</em>
</p><p>It was a lot easier to hide how his own heart shattered into pieces when Withers were being spawned. No matter what he did, no matter how much he tried to protect himself, it seemed he would always be stabbed in the back. He wouldn't die from it and had to live with the pain and constant anxiety. After all, Technoblade never dies and he wasn't about to begin simply because someone he had brought close to him turned on him again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And the end! As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated so don't be shy!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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